


A Night to Remember

by FlOrangey



Series: FlOrangey's Noctis/Prompto fics [1]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friendship, Graffiti, High School, Late Night Outings, M/M, Male Friendship, Spraypaint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-09 06:39:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7790749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlOrangey/pseuds/FlOrangey
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompto wants to make his senior year at high school something worth remembering. So he has Noctis tag along with him to make some memories and maybe get in a little trouble.</p><p>Takes place during Noctis and Prompto's school years.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Night to Remember

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea since I wrote the drinking game fic last year.

It was one in the morning and Noctis found himself opening his eyes as he heard his phone vibrating on and off at a constant rhythm. He groaned, at first thinking that he might have been dreaming, before coming to the conclusion that he was in fact awake. If he was awake, his phone had to have been going off for awhile. One or two texts was not enough to stir him from his death like sleep, but it going off at a constant rate eventually penetrated his brain and roused him into something resembling being awake.

Noctis let out a small groan as he tried to figure out how to move his arm to pick it up without moving. The rude awakening already made him feel grumpy and irritable. Who in their right mind would be calling him at - of all times - one in the morning? Noctis rolled onto his stomach when he found his arm was not gonna do what he wanted it to do and let his eyes rest on the screen. Still half asleep, he gazed at the name for several long seconds until it registered in his brain who was calling him. And when it did he sighed, not surprised by the name.

Prompto Argentum. Of course. Only Prompto would call him so late at night.

Noctis sighed letting his head rest on his pillow, eyes closing before snapping open at the infernal noise of his phone buzzing, to him, like a chainsaw. Noctis glared at malevolent object and found the temptation to just turn it off - or throw it at the nearest wall - and go back to sleep strong. However he knew if Prompto was trying to call him and not just sending him a few text messages that he would read in the morning, it was something important. Knowing Prompto, his best friend probably locked himself out of his house again and needed a place to sleep over for the night.

Noctis grabbed his phone and answered it.

“Hello?” He said, voice raspy and heavy from sleep.

_“Hey, Noct. About time you picked up!”_

Noctis frowned as he heard his friend’s voice. Prompto sounded cheerful and wide awake. “What do you want Prompto?” He asked, not even trying to hide the irritation in his voice. Prompto just laughed in his ear.

 _“Ouch. And I thought you were grumpy in the morning.”_ Prompto told him. Noctis grunted. _“Anyway, I need you to come out here.”_

A brief pause passed as Noctis rubbed his eyes and rolled onto his back. “Prom, do you know what time it is?”

_“Yeah it’s 1AM. Why?”_

Noctis made a noise that was a bizarre cross between a groan and a yawn. “Why are you calling me at 1AM?”

 _“I need a favor.”_ He heard Prompto say as he stretched himself out. _“I know, trying to get you to function this late at night is next to impossible, but your the only one who can help me. I’ll buy all the coffee or whatever you need to stay awake for a few hours, and we can even crash at my place if I can’t get you home, just help me out here. Please?”_

Noctis did not answer at first, his eyes had closed for a few seconds too long, but he heard what Prompto said and forced himself to sit up. Being awake so late at night made him aware of how dark his room was. He reached over to his nightstand and by some miracle found the switch to turn his lamp on. The room became a faint orange color.

“What do you need?” He asked, stumbling over his words a little. He wanted to add ‘are you okay’ because he noticed his friend sounded a little desperate. Did something happen at home? He doubted Prompto would say anything over the phone though. More reason to see him in person.

_“Get down here and I’ll tell ya.”_

Silent for a second, but then Noctis groaned and muttered something that he hoped sounded like an agreement and ended the call. If something was bothering Prompto, his friend was not going to tell him about it on the phone, he would when they were walking down the street or wherever Prompto wanted to take him. He got himself out of bed, leaning against the wall until the room stopped spinning, then moved to his closet He got dressed, tossing his pajamas on the floor, and took a seat back on his bed. He let his eyes close for a second, running his fingers through his hair and jumped when his phone went off again. He picked it up.

“What?”

_“What’s taking so long? Did you fall asleep again?”_

“No. I’m getting dressed.”

_“Well get dressed faster, we don’t have all night.”_

Noctis found himself rubbing his forehead in frustration at his best friends impatience before hanging up the call and going over to the window. He pulled the curtains open, letting the moonlight pour into his bedroom before opening the window and looking down to the streets. It was hard to see the streets at night when up so high, his room was near the top floor of the palace, but the street lights lit the road enough that he could make out the a speck moving around that he was sure was his best friend.

Taking a deep breath, Noctis drew from the crystals magic and summoned his sword. He threw it to the street below, following behind it as his body warped from the window to his weapon. He landed with a crash, his ears ringing as he hit the ground.

“Whoa! Hey, a little warning next time.” Prompto’s yelp was the first thing to catch his ears when his hearing returned to him.

“Sorry.” Noctis said as he let his silver sword vanish and got to his feet. As he straightened, his vision began to spin and when he took a step his legs gave out. Prompto was near him in a second, steadying him with a hand to his back and another on his shoulder.

“Easy.” His friend said helping him keep steady on shaky legs. He looked Noctis over, noting that his face had become pale, but was slowly regaining its color. “You okay?”

Noctis nodded concluding that warping from a fifty story building to the ground after just waking up was not quite on the list of things he could do yet. He waited a few more seconds, wanting to make sure his face would not hit the pavement when Prompto let go of him, before deciding he could in fact stand on his own. He gently pushed his friends hand off him and looked him in the eye.

“Okay. Please tell me you have a good reason to drag me out so late.” He said.

“Well of course!” The blonde said, a grin on his face as he knelt down and picked something off the ground. Noctis noticed right away it was a bag, and it was stuffed with who knows what that it looked like it was ready to break at the seams. “But first, I think I owe you that coffee. You look like a wreck.”

“You’re fault not mine.” Noctis told him. The smile never left Prompto’s face as the teenager gave Noctis a light pat on the back before running down the steps to the street. The prince watched him run off, then glanced up at the palace, positive a guard or member of the Glaive was watching them. Someone was always watching. The palace was under constant surveillance, so he already knew someone had seen Prompto come by and would be watching the two of them leave. He doubted anyone would do anything though because it was normal for Prompto take him out late at night.

Late as in nine or ten at night. Not one in the morning and he expected someone was going to wake his father up to inform him of his disappearance. Noctis decided to try and beat them to it, and sent a quick text to his dad to assure the older man he would be fine and would let him know when he got back. The last thing he wanted was his father to worry. He had enough on his mind.

“Yo Noct, come one already!” Prompto shouted making Noctis jump a bit. He rushed down the steps to catch up with his energetic friend, who gave him a light punch in the shoulder. “Still half asleep buddy?”

Noctis’ response was a loud and long yawn.

There was a diner a few blocks down the road that was open twenty-four hours. Prompto led the way inside and walked up to the counter, ordering two cups of the strongest coffee the place had. The waitress had no reaction other than a simple nod and began to set to work as Prompto took a seat at one of the tables. Noctis sat down across from him.

“Alright Prom, what’s this favor? And what’s in your backpack?” He asked then realized how suspicious that sounded considering they were in a diner at one in the morning. He glanced over at the waitress who was getting their coffee and hoped she was not getting any ideas. Prompto did not notice Noctis fidget a bit uncomfortable, and instead opened the backpack.

“Here take a look. It’s awesome.” He said zipping it open and leaning in his direction. Noctis pulled the bag down a bit more to see inside contained multiple cans of spray paint along with various stencils. He frowned, confused.

“I don’t get it.” He said moving his hand as the waitress put the cups on the table. He took one, drinking it down desperate for the caffeine hit.

“Okay, you know how each year it’s a tradition for the graduating class to pull some kind of prank?”

“Yeah. And the school banned the practice after last years ‘shower incident’ remember?” Noctis asked. Prompto shuddered, not needing to be reminded about the horrible thing that happened to his hair at the end of gym class and again grateful for the invention of hair dye.

“Details. Besides this isn’t anything dangerous, just fun. I mean we graduate in a month so we should at least leave our mark on the school.” Prompto said, “So I was thinking, we should do some...decorating in the halls and classrooms.”

“You wanna spray graffiti all over the school.” Noctis told him getting a laugh from his friend.

“You know, I’m glad you said it and not me, because it makes me feel less like a troublemaker.” The blonde told him, the grin never leaving his face as Noctis rolled his eyes and began to drink his second cup of coffee. This time slower to savor the taste. It was a fresh brew, he could tell just from the smell and taste. Prompto continued to point out all the paint, listing all the colors. All bright and vivid colors.

“I brought the stencils because I’m not really an art person like you are,” Prompto told him, then took one out. It was a skull. “I thought it’d be fun to throw some skulls on the walls in, maybe write a few choice words for the teachers.”

“You really got into this.”

“You kidding? I spent my entire last paycheck on all this stuff.” He said. Noctis stopped drinking his coffee, eyeing Prompto and noting his word choice. His last paycheck.

“You lost your job?” He asked. Prompto’s face turned red as he gave Noctis a sheepish laugh.

“Yeah .They found out I lied about my age.” He told him and while he tried his best to hide it Noctis could tell he just from how he hesitated one certain words that he was ashamed to tell him. The blonde shrugged it off. “But it’s okay. I mean, I still have most of what I made saved up, and I have a few more months after graduation until my parents kick me out. Most won’t care how old I am if they know I graduated high school so I should be able to find some more work before I turn eighteen.”

He sounded cheerful, but Noctis could feel the edge and nervousness in his voice. “You should have saved it.”

“I know, but, I keep thinking. After school ends, we won’t be seeing each other as much. I’ll have work and you’ll have your responsibilities. So, I wanted to do something fun and thought this would be a great way for us to screw the school over and have a good time.” He paused then added, “I just want us to keep being friends.”

“Prom, we’re always gonna be friends.”

“...I know it's just... we might not see each other as much. So I want tonight to be worthwhile because who knows what’s going to happen after graduation.”

Noctis considered his friends words. In his mind, Prompto was exaggerating, but he knew his friend well enough to know his concerns were justified. After graduation they would be going into different directions. He would begin his private tutoring and becoming more involved in Lucis’ politics as he trained to become the next king. His future was secure. Prompto’s was not.

Noctis glanced up at the clock on the wall and then looked at the waitress. “Hey, can I get a cup to go?” He asked getting her attention. The waitress did so and once the paper cup was in front of him, he thanked her, left a tip on the table and got up from his seat. “Alright, we going or not?”

At the question Prompto jumped to his feet. “Yeah! Let’s go!” He grabbed the bag and slung it over his shoulder. “This is gonna be the greatest thing ever!”

“If you say so.” Noctis said, trying to sound indifferent but smiling at the same time.

“Trust me Noct, when we’re done this is gonna be a night we’ll never forget.”

* * *

“Wake up, we’re here!” Prompto shouted giving Noctis a hard shake as the bus stopped. Noctis grunted, and blinked slowly. He had not even realized he had fallen asleep. So much for caffeine keeping him awake.

Noctis let out a small breath as he stood up with Prompto and walked off the bus. He ignored the glare the driver gave them as they got off, and watched as the bus took off down the street much faster than the speed limit in the school zone would allow.

“Geeze what a jerk.” Prompto said then started walking the last block from the bus stop to the school with Noctis behind him. As expected when they reached the school building the gate was shut, but Prompto was already working to get around that problem, pulling a pin out of his pocket and proceeding to pick the lock.

“Okay, this won’t take long. I just need to…” Prompto trailed off as he concentrated on the lock while Noctis looked up passed the gate to the school building. Being closed behind a gate with the lights off made the building look foreboding, almost like it was haunted. “...aha! There we go.”

The blonde pushed the gate open and jumped out of the way, giving Noctis a mock bow and motioning for him to go first. “After you my liege.”

“Shut up.”

Prompto chuckled as Noctis walked passed and closed the gate behind him, making sure it did not look like they had broken in, just in case someone happened to walk by. He motioned for Noctis to follow him and jogged down the walkway and around to the back of the school. He had kept a door near the back of the school - close to the gym - unlocked and ajar earlier that day and was hoping that the night guard had not found and closed it before leaving for the night. He put a hand on the door handle and gave it a light pull. The door did what he had hoped and opened with no problems.

They stepped into the small hall and then Prompto opened the next door leading to the gym. They walked inside and Noctis looked around.  “Scary…” Noctis muttered. Being inside school after hours was like stepping into another world. It felt foreboding, even haunted to be alone in such a large room with no lights or people.

He turned sharply to his best friend when he heard him snort loudly. “What?”

“Never thought you were scared of the dark Noct.”

Noctis became tense at the suggestion, face becoming bright red. “I’m not-” He started then stopped as Prompto continued to snicker and rush ahead of him. He sighed and followed him out of the gym.

Prompto checked the hallways to make sure no one else was around, and then made his way to the stairs. They would start on the upper floors first, starting with their homeroom and the other classrooms and if they had time and extra paint, work their magic on the floor blow. Then they could leave before anyone noticed them.

Prompto stopped in the middle of the hall in front of their homeroom classroom. He set his backpack on the floor and zipped it open. Noctis watched as he pulled a can of paint out and dug through some stencils picking out a letters that seemed random, until Noctis watched him press them to the wall and spray them with paint. First the letter F, then a U and K…

“Aren’t you clever.”

“Hey if we’re tagging the school might as well go all out. Be a little honest with our words.” Prompto told him giving him a wink. Noctis rolled his eyes, but picked one of the cans off the floor and looked it over. An idea formed in his head and he kneeled down and searched through Prompto’s backpack to see if there was anything he could use to cover parts of the wall. He got his answer in the form of a few pieces of paper that had gotten stuck at the bottom of Prompto’s backpack.

Noctis took one look at the grade and realized it might have gotten stuck there on purpose. “Hey, can I tear this up?” He asked holding the test up for his friend to see. Prompto shrugged.

“Yeah sure. Not like I’m showing my parents that grade.” Was the blondes answer. He turned back to his work, glancing over for a brief second as he saw Noctis rip his test in half and begin doing who knows what with it. Prompto then set back to work on his own work, the grin on his face becoming wide with glee as he traced over the letters.

When he was done, Prompto took a few steps back to admit his work, convinced he had written the one thing every student had thought at one point or another:

_‘FUK THIS SKOOL!’_

He was a little disappointed, his stencil set was missing a ‘C’, but something about the misspelling just added more charm to the message. He looked his work over with pride knowing his classmates would get a laugh out of it. Something was missing though, the trademark skulls that adorned every important building in Insomnia. He wondered if he had a skull stencil or something else. It’d be a missed opportunity if he did not have anything. After all what was the point of just writing stuff on walls without giving it a little flair?

He went back through his bag stopping as he noticed Noctis had begun to do his work. The young man had taped the pieces of paper to the wall - Prompto wondered where he got the tape until he noticed a classroom door was now open - and sprayed a large X over the general area. He then put that can down and picked up another. Upon realizing it was pink, he put that down and grabbed a different color and began to fill in the part of the wall he had made his canvas. As he worked the image began to form, a large featureless skull. At least it was featureless until Noctis began putting finer details on the skull, and then carefully pulled the pieces of paper off the wall. Now it had eyes that gazed out at them, and teeth bared together like it was grinning.

Prompto stared in amazement, then looked at Noctis when the prince spoke. “Doesn't look right….”

“Doesn’t look right? Noct that looks awesome!” He said jumping to his feet. Noctis frowned at it crossing his arms.

“You sure?” He asked jumping as Prompto suddenly had his arm around his shoulder.

“Course. You’re the best artist I know.” The blonde told him, then after a second added. “Well, actually you’re the only artist I know. And I mean know personally, I know _about_ other artists, but don’t know know them. Point is it looks great.”

Prompto watched as Noctis still looked unsatisfied by the work and them gave him a light push. “Hey stand next to it and let me take a picture.” He told him. Noctis glanced at the wall then his friend, but did so as Prompto pulled his camera out and held it up. He gave his friend an awkward smile as he snapped his picture, being temporarily blinded by the flash. Prompto took two more pictures then put his camera down to look at the results.

“See it looks fine.” He said as Noctis walked over to look at the snapshot. He frowned. Something still felt off, but he was his own worst critic so maybe Prompto was right and his work was fine.

Then again it was also possible the reason it felt off was because he was helping Prompto _vandalize school property_. Not something he expected himself to be doing at any point in his life.

Prompto brought out the worst in him. He did not mind however, because when he was with his best friend he was having fun. Even if he could feel his exhaustion crawling back at the edges of his mind. “I’m going to start on the classroom.”

“Cool. I’ll keep working out here.” Prompto said giving his friend a light smack on the back. He dropped back down to the floor and began looking through for his bag to find more stencils. He found some with skulls covering them and began to set to work decorating the general area around where he wrote his little message.

He got some gray spray paint on his message. Now along with skulls it had splatterings of all over the words making them a bit harder to make out. Prompto thought his options over, considered retracing the words, then decided against it not wanting to ruin his work anymore than it was. He moved a little further down the hallway, then jumped as he heard something loud being dragged across the floor or the classroom.

Just Noctis. Prompto reminded himself that Noctis was in the classroom and the noise was just him moving some chairs or desks around. He must have had an idea, or needed something to stand on. The blonde set to work, beginning to try and make the wall of the hallway look like a mural. He decided vibrant colors would be the way to go, it would make them stand out more against the plain school walls, and began making little designs. Some he stencilled others he just drew free hand. He did more freehand as he discovered he liked them more. Everything was less refined, but it looked more natural and organic. More like his own style or something similar.

Prompto continued his work and after a good hour stepped back to admire it. He looked over all the mess he made and decided it looked good enough for a few pictures. So he snapped a few photos going along the wall as he did so and once satisfied he got everything he wanted checked his phone.

To his surprise it was only two in the morning. If they kept this up they might be able to do a few other classrooms before they needed to leave. He then looked over to the door to their homeroom and noted it was unnaturally quiet. Noctis had been in their awhile. “Noct? You okay?”

Prompto hoped his best friend remembered to open a window and did not pass out from paint fumes, but it was the sudden loud crash that answered his question that had him running to the door. He was met with - to his relief - open windows, but also desks knocked over and his friend on the floor. Prompto rushed over to his best friend.

“Noct! You okay?” He asked looking around. “What the hell happened?”

Noctis looked at him then the desk and said, “I fell” as his face turned red from embarrassment.

Prompto offered his hand and helped him up. Once to his feet Noctis grunted and rubbed his arm wincing in pain. “You okay?”

“Yeah, might have some bruises. I’ll just tell dad I tripped and fell or something. It’s...kinda true.” Noctis told him as he winced as he tried to massage his sore arm. Prompto nodded slowly, having a feeling even if his father believed him, Ignis would not.

He looked around the room examining all the fancy spraypainted designs Noctis had made, skulls and flames, the school’s symbol etched on the wall next to where the teacher would always post their test scores. He then looked up to see Noctis was even outlining something on the ceiling. Now the crash made sense. Noctis was not paying attention to what he was standing on and fell.

“Geeze Noct, going a little overboard there.” Prompto said. Noctis shrugged and winced again when he tried to move his arm. “Well you wanna try and do the other classrooms?”

“Sure.” Was the prince’s answer. Prompto grinned and hurried out of the classroom, Noctis walking behind him, and trying to decide which classroom they should work there magic on next.

That was when the two heard the sound of footsteps followed by yelling. Prompto had jumped at the noise and Noctis’ head turned right to it. He then looked at Prompto. “The hell?”

“I don’t know.” The blonde said his voice a high pitched whisper. “I swear I thought we’d be the only two here.”

“Guess someone else had your idea. And they aren’t very quiet about it.”

Prompto said nothing, but nodded. It was just a few other students coming in to play a prank. It could also have been thieves that noticed the school had been broken into and decided to take advantage of the situation to steal a computer. Or worse, change their test scores. Prompto let out a small noise then looked at Noctis who was beginning to slowly make his way back down the hall. “Noct. Bad idea.”

Noctis ignored his friend plea and continued down the hall. He looked down the stairs as he heard some commotion and doors being slammed shut. He started down the steps and not even a few seconds later the school's alarm went off, echoing through the building. He heard someone scream in surprise and then Prompto grab his arm.

“Let’s get out of here!” He shouted pulling Noctis along and rushing down the stairs. He heard someone swear as the two went down the hall and back to the gym to what Prompto hoped would be their exit. He grabbed the door handle, to find it jittered but did not move. “Shit!”

Prompto cursed his and Noctis’ luck, whoever came in after they did must have locked it and he had no key to unlock it. He looked around and scratched his head trying to think of another way out, but the only thing that came to mind was the front door. Noctis frowned as he saw Prompto nervously bounce on his heels and pushed him aside.

“I got it.” He muttered already drawing on some magic and waving his hand near the handle. There was a brief flash and popping noise as the handle fell off it’s hinge and to the ground. The smell of burning plastic reached Prompto’s nose and made him wince, but he ignored it as Noctis pushed the door open and the two rushed outside. Prompto led the way back around the school to the front gate, a grin crossing his face. The whole scenario of running out of the school while the security alarm was blaring was terrifying, yet exciting. He turned around to see if Noctis was grinning and to make sure his friend was keeping up with him, but turned quickly as he heard more noises and stopped in his tracks.

Strong bright lights that kept blinking along with sirens and shouts for them to put there hands up and get on the ground. It took him a second to register what was going on and looking at Noctis he saw the prince’s eyes widen in a way he rarely saw.

Then as he felt the rough hands of a police officer grab his arms and pull them behind him he realized they were in a lot of trouble.

* * *

Prompto had to admit, he did not expect the night to get as chaotic as it did and end on such a bitter note. At least in his opinion it was bitter.

“Aren’t we supposed to get one phone call? I’m pretty sure we’re supposed to get one phone call.” The officer in question glanced up from his newspaper at Prompto who stared out at the officer with pleading eyes through the bars of his cell. The officer then went back to his newspaper. “Please? It’s important.”

“Look kid, it’s three in the morning, do you really think you’re gonna reach someone at this time of night?” He asked giving him a cold glare. “You and your little friend there can have your call tomorrow.”

“Oh come on!” Prompto said louder than intended getting the man to glare at him. Prompto shivered under his gaze - which looked half dead - but continued to argue. “You don’t understand. You see him?” He pointed to Noctis who was sitting on the far end of the cell. “He’s the King’s son, if he’s not home by morning-”

“Yeah sure sure, look kid do you have any idea how many drunk ‘prince of Lucis’ we get at this time of night. I’ll give yours credit, at least he looks sober, but that hair? That's no hair for royalty. Get some gel, comb it back, and maybe he could pass for upper-middle class.” The man said then chuckled and muttered, “not with those clothes” under his breath as he went back to his paper. He then turned on the radio and Prompto sighed and went back to taking his seat next to Noctis on the cold hard bed of the cell.

Noctis took a deep breath and stretched out his neck. He then sighed and Prompto noticed it sounded tired. “Well, you weren’t kidding. I certainly won’t forget this any time soon.”

“I’m sorry Noct. If those assholes didn’t show up you’d be back home by now.” Prompto said looking glancing over at the wall for a second where he could hear someone being rowdy and making noise. It was the people who had broken into the school and tripped the alarm. Apparently they were trying to steal the test scores for the final exams. Prompto looked down at the ground and Noctis studied his face before giving him a shrug and a smile.

“It’s fine.” He said and even though he did sound tired Prompto noted he sounded happy. “I had a lot of fun. Wouldn’t want to do it again any time soon, but I’m glad you dragged me out. You always know the best way to have a good time.”

Prompto blinked a few times then grinned and wrapped an arm around Noctis shoulder pulling him into a hug. The gesture caught Noctis by surprise, but then he relaxed letting his eyes close as he felt the warmth of his friend next to him. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”

Noctis continued to smile, but after a few seconds it faded and Prompto noticed his friend had been very quiet. He tapped his cheek getting his friend to half open his eyes. “Hey, you okay?”

“Need sleep...” He muttered, barely loud enough to be heard. His voice was heavy with fatigue and Prompto looked at him concerned before looking around the cell. The whole thing was plain and uncomfortable and there were no blankets or pillows. “Hey I can see if that asshole can gives us a pillow or two. If you want.”

No answer and it did not take long for Prompto to notice Noctis had fallen asleep against him. Exhaustion had overtaken him and the young blonde new if Noctis was as tired as he sounded he would not be waking up for a long while. So instead of trying to shake him awake again he pulled his friend closer so he could rest his head against Prompto’s shoulder. Prompto watched as Noctis slept, seeing how relaxed his face was and found himself smiling.

“Or you can just use me as your pillow. Totally fine with that.” He said, a small smile on his face before letting his head rest against his friends and closing his eyes to try and get a few hours of sleep himself.

* * *

What woke Prompto up was not his neck being sore, even if it was sore when he did wake up, but to the sound of the metal bars being shoved open and hitting the wall hard. The noise echoed throughout the building, waking him up from his light sleep and even getting Noctis to stir a little.

“You're free to go, just hurry and don’t bring this up again!”

The guard sounded hurried, which made Prompto feel confused for a moment, but when he looked up at who was standing just outside the cell next to the officer his eyes widened in horror and he jumped to his feet. Noctis, who had at some point in the night moved from Prompto’s shoulder to his lap, slipped and fell hard on the concrete floor. He groaned as he sat up, rubbing the back of his head and turned around to see who was waiting for them. His eyes widened then he sighed.

“Shit.”

After Regis thanked the officer and apologized for any inconvenience - which led to the officer stuttering that an apology was not necessary before  apologizing profusely for not contacting him sooner - Noctis and Prompto followed him out of the police station and to the Regalia. Noctis kept his head low, a part of him had been hoping Ignis would be picking him up because then he would not need to deal with the feeling of disappointing his father until he had a long rest. Prompto glanced between the two unsure if he should say anything, and actually quite scared to say anything.

Noctis glanced up at his father and saw he looked not just upset but also very tired. He then looked down. “Dad I-”

Noctis stopped as he felt his father’s hand grip his shoulder and looked up at him. His face was stern.

“I’m glad you're safe, understand that.” He started trying to keep his voice even, but the disciplinary tone was obvious. Prompto noticed it was not a regal tone either, but a fatherly one. Somehow that sounded more terrifying. “But do you have any idea how worried I was when I heard you were not home? I don’t like it when Prompto takes you out late, but I hoped _both_ _of you”_ Prompto almost jumped out of his skin when King made it clear he was addressing him too, “had enough sense to not do anything to get you locked up in a prison cell.”

“I’m sorry dad.”

Regis noticed Noctis was avoiding eye contact and looked worn out from his long night. So he let his face soften, “Let’s get you home so you can rest.” He said then added, “But you're grounded. No videogames for a week and no going out past ten for the rest of the school year. And you're both going to help clean up that mess at the school. I already spoke to your parents Prompto and they agreed.”

Upon hearing that, Prompto let out a groan. Noctis made a small noise as well, but it was one of indifference. At the moment he was more concerned with getting home and back in bed. So he just slid into the back seat of the Regalia while his father sat in front. He then looked up and motioned for Prompto to sit down. “Come on, we’ll drop you off before going back to the palace.”

Prompto considered it then shook his head. “Nah that’s okay. I’ll grab some coffee and walk home. I’ll see you at school tomorrow Noct.”

Noctis gave his friend a small nod and let his eyes close as Prompto shut the door and stepped back so the Regalia could drive off. He let a grin form on his face and decided he’d grab himself coffee and breakfast at his favorite place before going home and taking a nap. While walking down the street he pulled out his camera and looked at the pictures he had taken of his and Noctis 'decorations'.

He smiled at them and made a mental note to call Noctis later in the afternoon so they could go and get the pictures printed together. Assuming he would be allowed to go out of course.


End file.
